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Djokovic denies Federer in a classic

Nova Djokovic denied Roger Federer his 8th Wimbledon title in a 5-set match which will go down as a classic. Both players sustained tennis of the highest level to thrill the crowd for over three and a half hours. At 2-5 down in the 4th set, and facing match point, it looked like it was all over for Federer, but remarkably he won 5 games in a row to take the 4th set 7-5 and take it into a 5th and deciding set.

Djokovic has described his victory in yesterday’s Wimbledon final as the most special of his career.

Federer won the first set in a tie-break, but then was broken early in the 2nd set, which Djokovic went on to take 6-4. Djokovic also took the 3rd set, this time in a tie-breaker, and when he stood at 5-2 up in the 4th set it looked like it was all over for Federer. But, digging deep and coming up with some amazing shots, Federer levelled the match at two sets all, and it looked like the dream of his winning his 8th Wimbledon was back on.

Importantly, after losing 5 games in a row, Djokovic won the opening game of the final set, which eventually went to 4-4 before Djokovic broke Federer’s serve for the 2nd time in the set, and then served out the match to take the final set 6-4. For a match which lasted for over three and a half hours, it was remarkable how high the level of tennis was for nearly the entire match. Although I was hoping Federer would win, no-one can deny that Djokovic played superbly well and it was a match he won rather than Federer losing it.

A number of commentators have said that, at soon to be 33, there is no reason that Federer cannot carry on for several more years. He has stayed remarkably injury-free for nearly his entire career, testimony to how balanced a player he is. For a player who has achieved everything in tennis very few things can still motivate him, but it is no secret that winning 8 Wimbledons is one thing he still wishes to achieve, so I fully expect Federer to be back in 2015 trying to win that elusive 8th title.